What lakes within a two hour drive from jonesboro or in the area around jonesboro do you think has the biggest bream?
Printable View
What lakes within a two hour drive from jonesboro or in the area around jonesboro do you think has the biggest bream?
Bear creek is usually pretty good
Wapanocca
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Horseshoe.
Wapa
Hogue has some really big readear in it. We sampled numerious redear in the pound and half size this spring.
Tunica
Vogue. Forgot about that plus you might get some bonus talapia! Mmmm
I sure didn't find them with the full moon like everyone says back start of this month?? I never really went on that whole moon thing but I was out on Hamelton a week before the full moon only to find empty beds and no bream. The following week, week of full moon I set lines for cats on the infamous Degray with very little success imagine that and decided to mix in some full moon night time bassin and bream fish in the daylight. Talked to 2 different guys who said the bream weren't doing it and the bass fishing was marginal with as usual only small ones.
So given that my efforts for bream haven't been good but I'm about ready to start chasing them and crappie again. We shall see if this moon things works later this month like say last few days in the month and 1st few of Aug. when it's full again. As for the fishing I sure hate this new area around Hot Springs! I don't remember seeing much water up towards Jonesboro but only been up there one time in my life. Hope you find em, I'll be looking myself.
The Tilapia stocking was suspended a couple years ago. Have it restarted? The fish die off when water temps drop each fall.Quote:
Originally Posted by dblevens
I'd go bear creek. I've been catching some nice red ears down there the past 3 weeks. Attachment 94130
Ouachita has some really nice red ear but it sure ain't close to Jonesboro. Me and X-Ring tied into a few of them a couple of weeks ago while he was camped down here but we never could find a good concentration of them in one spot. They sure are a hoot to catch and don't eat too bad either.
Constructskeeter, are you new to the Hot Springs area?
conway
Ok, explain to me the theory concerning bream and the moon phase. Heard about it but never paid much attention, but the way they are biting (not) at Horseshoe right now, Maybe I need to fully understand it!:donoQuote:
Originally Posted by constructskeeter
very nice redear!
Yeah it was a nice redear. I moved to the HS area just after the 1st of the year to answer someones question. As for the moon phase I've read about where it's linked to better fish activity not only the bream but bass and other fish too. I know some folks that bank on the whole moon thing but this is the 1st time i've ever tried to pattern things around it. George Graves the guy who gives the weekly fishing report for the AGF website said last full moon bream fishing should pick up around the full moon, well sure didn't see it. Something about the lunar cycle and gravity vs barometric pressures.
Whatever it is I sure hope the fishing gets better this time around. I think we are going to Magic Springs this evening but bright and early tomorrow morning I'm thinking of being on Hamelton for the crappie, if it has many in it. I've really only been on it twice crappie fishing but I've yet to catch a single crappie. I marked a lot of brush the other night when bass fishing it that was in deeper water and the map I have shows where flooded timber is so maybe those area's will have something to offer. Maybe someone else can tell us about the moon phases and how they effect fishing, cause I'm kinda still in the dark myself on it.
With hot weather the Bear Creek bream and shellcrackers go deep; you'll catch bunch, just not as big as in early-mid May. Try fishing deeper just off the old beds. Do you use worms for the 'crackers or stick with crickets?Quote:
Originally Posted by Xpress Fishing
No tilapia in hogue.
We had to discontinue the tilapia stocking due to the increase price of purchasing the tilapia.
I grew up on Hamilton. Not fished it in many years since I moved away but living on Long Island I was on the water every day. Here's what it was like back then. Man Made Structure!!! If you were not out sinking brush, you just don't catch fish. Well, at least not like the rest of us. Good news is that you can find some brush by hitting boat docks. You would be amazed but more often than not when the houses were built on this the owners would instruct the crews to dump all trees in the water for crappie. Since summer is here go find boat docks in about 20 foot of water and look around for brush. From right beside the dock to casting distance. You'll find some. Also, any time you can line up a bird house with a chimney drive toward it, deep to shallow. You'll find brush. Lol
That lake has become so popular anymore and being fully surrounded by seawall, when I go back there to visit all my family and friends I go to ouachita.
Raise the licensees to $12.00 those talapia are worth it!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mojorig
During 3 days before and 2 days after the full moon, I stay home or do something besides fishing...good period for honey doos, etc...I have fished for 50 years and never had any luck during full moon period...stopped fishing full moon periods about 15 years ago...cuts down on my fustration...I know some people just being on the water, whether catching fish or not (relaxes them)...not me...my wife says I have a problem...
Thats Not a bad shell cracker there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Xpress Fishing
I've seen Bill Dance say on several shows that bream bed around the full moon, 3 days before up through 3 days after. I can't say my personal experience has borne that out.
Well I went out this morning and didn't catch a single crappie or bream. Found a few bream beds but they had already come and gone, maybe this next full moon will bring em back. As you'd said, docks, 20' water and man made brush...I stayed hung up all morning in the stuff yet no crappie??? Your right about the sea wall, kinda takes away from the natural water to shore that fish like best. I talked to some guys at the ramp and they mentioned Ouachita also. I said well living on the South end of HS it's a pretty good drive up there but I may have to give it a try. Also the bouys entering coves are mostly in the right depth and lots of times people sink brush around them cause they offer a place to tie off in the wind and waves. I found brush there as well but no fish. I'm really getting tired of wasting boat gas on water that's yet to prove worthy so to speak when I know where to find some fish, it's just not very close, long drive. Kinda sucks though cause I was hoping to find some fish over here as big as these lakes are you'd think???Quote:
Originally Posted by brosborough
Well hoxie I used to be that way and wouldn't fish a full moon if my life depended on it but last summer we got into the bass under that moon at night like I've never done before. Now I have heard the crappie feed all night during a full moon and day fishing sucks! They can see the bait fish better under the moon, skylight them if you will is what I was told. Don't know if that's so but it makes sense and an older crappie fisherman told me that so I took it a little more to heart. Years of experience has told him that no doubt. I plan on doing some bream and bass fishing this next moon. I know Hamelton has good numbers of bream by looking at the beds out there, just a matter of hitting them at the right time. As for the crappie, not seen evidence of them yet. I was told that could've been old crappie beds also. I've heard crappie and bream spawn in the same area's, not sure if there's truth to that either but I have found a few places that have those 2 in common so maybe so.Quote:
Originally Posted by hoxiedog
Sounds like you need to hire a guide or find a new hobby.Quote:
Originally Posted by constructskeeter
Personally I don't think moon phase has very much to do with weather fish bit or not , the bit being good or bad has more to do with barometric pressure and extreme weather conditions so if your staying home during full moon periods your missing a good day of fishing for the wrong reason, can't catch em sittin on the couch for sure, just my opinionQuote:
Originally Posted by hoxiedog
Man I'd be spoiled if I cought a pound haft cracker,I'd go broke trying to catch more.That there one in the picture would make my day.As for the moon yeah I've heard 3 days before/3 days after I didn't do good the last full moon.I sorta getting tired of targeting crappie I can catch all of them that want,some days they fight real good some days just a lazy head shake.Bream on the hand will try to tear the rod out of your hands no matter what the moon.Guess I need to start learning how to make bream beds and how to keep crappie from running them off....I agree with B. Pressure.
i've bass fished at night a lot. years and years and the best was the 3 days before a full moon through the full moon and through 3 days after the full moon. and i caught a lot of bass. a lot. much more than during the dark of the moon and yes, i fished both. about bream during the full moon? i think the water temp has more to do with when they spawn than the full moon. same with bass and crappie. but night fishing for bass? i'll take the times above every month of the year. on dock owner on norfork lake said, "you should be banned from the lake." and he asked me to take him out one night and i did and when we returned to the dock some other men were returning and asked how we did and jerry said, "i just got through watching a live tv show." at that time he owned jordon boat dock on norfork and taught diving.
There's lots of crappie in Lake Hamilton. They are just harder to find and stay in tune with this time of year. It has been sporadic for me on Ouachita too. A month of so ago I was catching good numbers in brush 16-18 feet deep. Since then it seems I will catch a couple here and a couple there. Some days I find them in a particular brush pile and the next weekend can't buy a fish out of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by constructskeeter
IMO the bream here are spawned out. If you want to catch big bream go to Ouachita or DeGray and fish deep on points and humps with crickets. There are some really nice red ears and bluegills in Ouachita. Maybe we need to get together and go fishing sometime? I fish Ouachita about 95% of the time and most always have a empty seat in the boat. On occasion I will make a trip to Dierks, Gilham, or Nimrod. If you're interested shoot me a PM.
I grew up fishing Hamilton but don't fish it much these days except occasionally during the times of year when boat traffic is down. There's just too many amateur boats out there for me. It was a totally different lake 20 years ago. It's just way too busy now especially on the weekends. There's still lots of fish in it though.
Big bream? I can't ever remember getting those on Hamilton. Always little bigger than hand size. If you want monster bream go to Ouachita. It is famous for large bream. Many guides that is all they do all summer long is take people out for that. They come from all over. I was shocked when I first heard about it. Never thought bluegill to be all that special. Hire a guide though for one trip. Ouachita is weed beds. You'll need someone to take you around and show you where the good ones are at, at which drop off to hold fish etc. Otherwise you'll have a slow time figuring it out on your own. It's a big lake.
Hamilton, my advice is keep searching for deep brush. Those markers you see in the bays, don't they say fish habitat on them? When I was in high school game and fish sank lots of brush and marked it with those. Nice brush piles but everyone knew about them.
Its summertime. What I did during these months is early morning brush piles for bass. Evening brush piles for bass. When it git dark, 10:30 pm, go try boat docks with lights pointing at the water. There are 1000's. They stay on all night. Throw anything that looks like a shad on the outer edge of the light. White bass heaven.
Actually it's about time for the whites to start breaking. Find rabbit island, sit on the backside, not the side facing the dam. Also hit little mizzarn(sp). Sorry cant spell that word. Early morning late evening.
Is fish hatchery still around? They used to release stocker rainbows which made the striper school and break. I never caught a 40 pounder but caught a lot of 20s. That was always fun. Throw those big rainbow rogues.
Till you get 30+ brush piles in 25 foot of water don't get too discouraged on summertime crappie. It's hard. Boat docks in deep water is your best bet to luck into them.
Well I've always heard bream spawn more than once in the summer and I seem to remember seeing them up more than once so hoping they will do it again this next full moon cause I don't have much faith in catching any crappie around here, have to wait til I can make the trip back further SW part of the state. I always thought waters back home were tough until I got here!! Even the Pro bass guys over here have said it's been tougher than usual this year and they can't find the bigger bass?? Ought to tell a guy something, least it does me. I have found a few places to catch bass on Degray but they were and have been all small ones, just like everyone else has been catching.
I think with the way weather was this year, May temperatures in March, everything is deep deep DEEP. You're not the only one having trouble. I pretty much gave up trying to find crappie on tenkiller and Blue Mountain. I gave night fishing a try up on Tenkiller last Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday night I caught more fish on tenkiller than I think I have my entire time up there. Windy as it was, it even rained on me at 6:00 PM when I launched, but the small mouth were fantastic. Caught a few whites and 3 drum as well. I tried again this morning, not a single small mouth. Caught a few black bass and again drum. Far as crappie go, I am just going to quite chasing them for now until maybe November....with the way the weather is holding up. Unless I can get Crappie Greg and his buddy to take me out on Blue Mountain sometime. That guy seems to always come home with a cooler full.
Blue mountain has always held good numbers of crappie but even this time of the year they may be tough up there. Now if your into smaller reservoirs you might give that cedar piney up there a try. The bream get big up there and it has a few crappie also. Course the cottonmouths get big too so watch for those. Last time I was up there we brought home a nice stringer of beam.
Does Wappanocca have descent bass?
Probility not they say the big bream keep them eat up.....haha.
More likey it has good size bass to eat the big bream..bigger lure maybe